


and you drive me wild

by a_mind_at_work



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Car Commercials AU, Car Dealership AU, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Multi, weirdest but cutest au you'll ever read I promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-29 23:26:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 10,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10864317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_mind_at_work/pseuds/a_mind_at_work
Summary: Alexander Hamilton watches Fox news for one reason: to see that cute boy in the Laurens Family Car Dealership ad.Or the AU in which Henry Laurens owns a car dealership and makes obnoxious commercials with all his children in them, and Alex, totally enamored, must do whatever it takes to meet the eldest son. Plenty of hijinks and cute times ensue!Aired on my Tumblr from January 2017 to May 2017. Title is from the Tegan and Sara song "Drove Me Wild."





	1. Laurens Family Ford Dealership

**Author's Note:**

> I got this idea super randomly and was worried everyone else would think it was weird, but it seems like everyone on Tumblr enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! I hope you Ao3 readers will enjoy it, too! ;) Here's some rare fluff from yours truly, the angst queen.

“Laf! Laf!” Alex shouted from the living room, excitedly bouncing up and down on the couch. When he got no response he began to shout even louder. “LAFAYETTE!” 

He heard a crash from somewhere upstairs and knew Laf had finally heard him. The other boy grumbled as he descended the stairs. The first few times Alex had called him like this, Lafayette had been worried. He’d thought something had happened to his adoptive brother. But now he knew why Alex was calling him and, as endearing as it was at first, it was getting kind of old.

“Mon ami,” Laf said with a sigh. “I thought we went over this.”

“I  _ know  _ but he’s wearing a new shirt this time and it brings out his eyes and goes with his skin tone so well and––” 

“Oh my  _ god _ ,” Laf groaned, cutting Alexander off. “You, mon ami, have the worst crush I’ve ever seen.” 

“Oh  _ please _ ,” Alex said, pausing the commercial again. “You had  _ the worst  _ crush on Adrienne, and then on Herc.” Alex rolled his eyes.

“They were real people, mon ami,” Laf said flatly. “And besides, it all worked out quite, how you say, fantastically.” He winked at Alex.

“Not everyone ends up in such an ideal poly relationship, Laf. And besides, car boy  _ is  _ a real person. I just haven’t met him yet.”

“You don’t even know his name,” Lafayette said. He crossed his arms and looked down at Alex, who only rolled his eyes again in return. 

“Uh, yeah, I do. It’s in the commercial.” Alex rewound the commercial to the start and pressed play.

A man with pale skin and jet black hair–– clearly dyed–– dressed in a navy suit and golden tie was front and center on the screen. His smile was huge and obviously fake. Behind him were various car models, and standing around him were five children.

While they were clearly related, all of the children had much tanner skin, and the oldest boy–– the one Alex had been lusting after for some time now–– and the two girls had smattering of freckles across their faces. All of the children had varying shades of brown curly hair that Alex thought made them look like a group of little angels.

And, well, it was clear who his favorite angel was.

The man in the center of the children was rambling excitedly about the cars for sale at his dealership. “So come on down to Laurens’ Fords today, because––”

At this point, all of the children joined in and shouted the line with him.

“Buying Ford is the American way!” 

Sometimes Alex said that line with the kids. Other times, he strained to pick out the oldest boy’s voice. This time, he just sat on the couch looking up at Lafayette with a smug grin.

“His name is  _ Laurens _ .” He looked like he’d just won some game. 

“His first name, mon ami,” Laf clarified. 

“Well it’s not like that’s something you’d say in a commercial,” Alex huffed.

Laf’s eyes softened a bit. “All I’m saying is be careful, mon ami. Crushes are fine, but you do not know this boy, and chances are high that you never will.” 

Alex flicked the TV off and sprang off the couch, causing Laf to take a few wobbly steps backwards as Alexander got all up in his face.

“I will know him! Just you wait.”

With that, Alexander ran upstairs to his room. He had a lot of planning to do.


	2. Mission Laurens

Around six am the following morning, a Saturday, Alexander was eagerly knocking on Lafayette’s door. When a bleary-eyed Laf answer the door, hair loose and wild from sleeping on it, he looked less than pleased.

“Alexander,” he grumbled. “Are you aware of the time?” 

Alex beamed at Laf. “You know the answer to that is ‘no way!’” He barged into Laf’s room and jumped onto the bed, adding in an extra bounce for good measure. 

Laf shut the door and flopped back onto his bed, burying his face in a pillow.

“Laf,” Alex whined, shaking him by the shoulder. “Laf, I found him.” 

“Found who?” Laf asked, half-awake. 

“The car commercial kid!” 

That got Lafayette to sit up. He stared at Alex’s beaming face and blinked a few times. “Really?” 

“Well, maybe! Okay, so I did some snooping, and, well, I think we should go to the dealership.” 

Lafayette narrowed his eyes at Alex and groaned. “Mon ami, are you telling me that you were up all night and the grand conclusion you came to is that  _ we should go to the dealership?”  _

“Well, I mean, I  _ tried  _ to find him other ways, but that one seemed most obvious,” he said with a shrug.

Laf dropped his face into the pillow again and collected himself before flipping over to address Alexander. “We are sixteen, mon ami. Nobody will take us seriously. And, besides, that family is, how you say, fucking loaded, and I doubt he works there.” 

“It’s all I got, Laf,” Alex said, widening his eyes and blinking sadly at his brother. “You have Hercules and Adrienne and I,” he dramatically placed his hand on his chest and fell backwards onto the bed. “I have  _ no one. _ ” 

Laf, against his better judgement, laughed at Alex’s antics. “Let’s talk about this in the morning,” he conceded. 

“It  _ is  _ morning,” Alex pointed out. He grinned and began to bounce up and down on the bed again. 

“In the  _ human  _ morning,” Laf contested. He grabbed Alex and tugged him close, then pulled the blanket and quilt over the two of them. “And I know you did not sleep, so now you will,” Laf said.

Alex tried to protest, but between the warmth of the blankets and Laf’s body heat, plus the fact that he hadn’t slept all night, he was snoring within five minutes. 

Lafayette wanted so badly to drift off to sleep, but now Alex’s new-found mission was on his mind. He couldn’t decide if indulging his brother in this search would be good for him, or if it would only set the smaller boy up for more loss and heartbreak.  

He tried to imagine what their parents, Martha and George, would say, but he wasn’t sure they’d be keen on the two of them tracking down a complete stranger in the first place. And maybe they would be right. 

Besides, while Alexander wasn’t exactly fragile, he’d already lost so much for being so young. Laf didn’t want to be overbearing, but if he could protect his brother from one more hurt? One more loss? Shouldn’t he do that? Besides, rich boys weren’t exactly known for being nice, no matter how cute they were. 

_ This can only end badly,  _ Lafayette decided.

He looked at Alex’s sleeping form. He always looked so peaceful when he slept. Laf felt so torn between protecting his brother and giving him what he wanted.

He eventually fell asleep, still undecided over what would be best for his dear Alexander. 


	3. Where's he at?

Lafayette had told Alex that he needed time to think the plan over. That had been five days ago. Every time Alexander tried to bring it up, Laf deflected with a  _ not now,  _ or  _ still thinking.  _

It was highly unusual for Laf to be so avoidant, especially when a possible adventure was the thing in question. Normally, he jumped at the chance for any and all types of mysteries and adventures.  _ So why, _ Alex couldn’t help but wonder,  _ is he hesitating? _

Alexander didn’t have to try and squeeze an answer out of Laf for much longer, though, because everything changed on Thursday night. 

Alex was watching Fox News, which he only subjected himself to for two reasons: 1) to be able to better counter Jefferson’s bs in debate club and 2) because it was the only channel the Laurens’ car commercial aired on.

There was a new commercial roughly every week, which Alex normally thought was excessive, but if he got to see a new clip of that boy every week, well, he didn’t care how ridiculous it was. 

When the commercial started, Alex could already tell it was different. It started zoomed in on the father’s face, and Alex  _ swore  _ he could see little dots of hair dye near the man’s scalp. He smirked. Apparently money couldn’t buy everything. 

“Are you a patriotic American looking for a new car, a good deal, and a friendly staff?” 

The camera zoomed out to show the man spreading his arms wide. The lot of cars and his children, but something was off. Usually the two girls stood on his left and the three boys on his right. But today…

The boy was missing.

“He’s gone!” Alexander exclaimed, leaping off of the couch and closer to the TV, as if he would be able to understand better the closer he got. 

“Trump?” Laf asked hopefully as he walked into the living room from the kitchen with two cookies in hand.

Alex glared at Laf. “Don’t get that hopeful,” he said flatly. 

“Well then who, mon ami?” He tried to hand Alex a cookie, but the boy was too busy rewinding the commercial. 

“Watch this,” he commanded.

Laf audibly rolled his eyes. “Not this again,” he groaned.

“Just watch!” Alex snapped, grabbing the cookie out of Laf’s hand and shoving it in his mouth as if it had offended him.

Lafayette watched the commercial and, by the end, Alex could tell that he’d figured out the reason Alexander was so upset.

“Where is he?” Laf asked.

Alex gave Laf an exaggerated shrug. “How would I know?! I have the same information as you!” 

Lafayette glared at his brother. “Stop being such a, how you say, brat.”

“You stop be so, how you say, so, so––” Alex let out a strangled groan and flopped onto the couch

Normally, Laf would taunt Alex for not being able to come up with a response, but, this time, Lafayette was more concerned than amused. 

“You’re really upset,” Laf said.

“You should never be a detective,” Alex muttered as he rolled over on the couch, hiding his face in a throw pillow. 

Lafayette sighed. Before he could say anything, Alex continued speaking.

“Listen,” the smaller boy said, sitting back up, his face still a little smushed from the pillow. “I know this is weird. I know I shouldn’t be upset about a rich boy in a commercial.” He sighed, his shoulder deflating. “But I am. I don’t… I don’t know why. I guess there’s something about him.”

Guilt settled into Lafayette’s bones. Maybe Alexander was right. Laf was incredibly lucky to have Adrienne and Hercules, and maybe having the two of them had made him temporarily forget how it felt to have a crush, to really like someone, but not be with them, to wonder if they’d even  _ want  _ to be with you. And Alex didn’t even know this kid. And now he didn’t even get to see him in these shitty car dealership commercials.

Lafayette groaned.

“I cannot believe I am about to say this, but let us search for him, mon ami.”

Alex immediately perked up, a smiling lighting his face. “Really? You mean it?” He was practically vibrating with excitement. 

Lafayette smiled at his brother. “Oui, I mean it. Now give me the address of the dealership. We have some, how you say, snooping, to do.”


	4. Alexander and Lafayette Go Car Shopping

It was ten o’clock that Saturday morning when Alexander and Lafayette pulled into the Laurens’ Family Ford Dealership, Laf driving Martha’s Subaru after asking to borrow it for errands. Martha being Martha, and Laf being Laf, didn’t even ask what errands the boys were running. Lafayette wondered what she would think of this plan, but Alex didn’t care. His mind was too clouded by the mystery of the car commercial boy. 

Alex looked Lafayette over for what had to be the tenth time that morning. “Are you  _ sure  _ you wearing all of that is a good idea?” 

Lafayette winked at Alex. “Of course, mon ami! It shows I am very patriotic.” 

Lafayette was wearing a long sleeved shirt that was designed to look like the American flag, the upper part, which mostly consisted of his arm, was the stars, the rest of him the stripes. He had a flag bandana on over his puffy curls, and his jeans, which looked deceivingly normal from the front, were studded in the back, right on his butt. In glittery fake jewels it read  _ Made in America _ , which Alex often pointed out was a lie, since Laf had been made in France, to which Laf would respond  _ but my  _ soul  _ is American, mon ami.  _

So, with Laf dressed as a walking personification of America, the two boys strode into the dealership. Lafayette had instructed Alex to look confident and let him do the talking. Lafayette was going to pose as a wealthy twenty-year-old out car shopping with his younger brother. Alex had originally protested this plan, but Laf was quick to point out that nobody would really believe that Alex was old enough to buy a car on his own and Alexander had been forced to accept that.

“Besides,” Laf had told him. “You need to be your age so it’s not creepy of you to, how you say, track down, this boy.” He winked at Alex.

“I’m just… worried,” Alex had muttered, looking down at the ground as a blush rose to his cheeks.  Laf sincerely doubted that it was only worry that had brought him and Alex to the dealership so early on a Saturday, but it had gotten him there and that was what mattered.

Lafayette sauntered up to the front desk. Alex nearly shrieked when he realized the girl sitting behind it was the older of the two girls in the commercial. Lafayette must have noticed, too, because he went into total flirt mode.

“Bonjour, mademoiselle,” he said, French accent perfect, face angelic despite his awful fashion. 

The girl, who appeared to be only a year or so younger than the two boys, giggled. “Hello, sir,” she said. “How can I help you today?” 

“I am in search of a new car,” Laf began. “When I saw your advertisement on the television I was very pleased to find such a magnifique dealership so close by. So patriotic,” he said with a wink. 

The girl blushed and giggled again. “I’ll get a salesman,” she told them. She giggled once more and then slipped into the back of the store. When she emerged, the man with her was no other than the guy with a bad hair dye job, who the two boys assumed was her father.

“Henry Laurens,” the man said as he stuck his hand out to Lafayette, a grin on his face.

“Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette,” he rattled off as he shook the man’s hand. “But you may call me Lafayette.” 

“Wow,” the girl behind the counter said. “What a lovely name.” There were practically hearts in her eyes.

Alex tried not to laugh.

“That’s my second oldest, Martha,” Henry Laurens said with an indulgent smile. 

“Oh, oui! Now I know where I recognize your pretty face from! You are on the television, non?” Laf asked smoothly. 

Alexander swore the poor girl was about to actually swoon.

Henry chuckled and answered for her. “Yes, all of my children are in my commercials with me since this is a family business.” The pride in his eyes was almost endearing.

“You have a lovely bunch,” Laf said. “How many are there?” 

“Five, three boys, two girls,” Henry said, clearly loving a chance to brag about his kids. “Martha here is top of her class, and so is Henry.” 

“Ah, your eldest?” Laf asked. 

Alex’s heart fluttered.  _ Henry,  _ he thought. 

“No, Henry is my middle boy. You’re thinking of John.” A strange look passed over the man’s face at the mention of his oldest child. “But anyway, you didn’t come here to hear me brag about my children! Let’s look at some cars. Now what sort of model are you interested in?” 

Alex’s heart was pounding. John. John Laurens. He knew what he looked like, and now he had a name. All that was left to do was find the boy.


	5. The Revolutionary Set

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Group Chat Name Key!
> 
> Large Baguette: Lafayette   
> Pegboard: Peggy  
> Hunkles Muscleman: Herc  
> Sweet Lizard: Eliza  
> Adriatic Sea: Adrienne  
> Alabama Hammerman: Alexander  
> Angel Face: Angelica

Later that Saturday afternoon Alexander was hunched over his laptop, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and a google search open, each of them tried and tried again in their search for John Laurens. 

Lafayette stood behind Alex, face scrunched in thought. “Mon ami,” he said after Alex let out his third groan of frustration in the span on a minute. “Why not try looking for ‘Martha Laurens,’ hmm?” 

“I’ll give it a shot,” Alexander said, feverishly typing her name into the search bar on Facebook. He nearly shrieked in excitement when a profile with her smiling face as the profile picture came up. “It’s her! It’s her!” he exclaimed as if Laf wasn’t right there with him, looking at the same exact thing.

Lafayette only chuckled as Alex clicked on her page. They couldn’t see much, but they could flip through her profile pictures. The first one was of Martha by herself, then one of her and her younger sister when they were about elementary school and preschool aged. The third one was Martha and another girl who appeared to be her age in school uniforms.

“Wait,” Laf said, laying his hand on top of Alex’s to stop him from clicking to the next picture. “That is our Eliza!” 

Alex, who hadn’t paid the other girl much attention seeing as he was hoping  _ John  _ would appear in one of these profile pictures, did a doubletake. “Holy shit,” he said. 

“Merde, it was in front of us all along,” Lafayette mumbled. “Of course they go to the same school!”

“That fancy private one across the river?” Alex asked, staring at the photo of the two smiling girls. 

Eliza and her siblings had long been friends of the Washingtons, as Philip Schuyler had served a term in the senate alongside him. Washington had considered sending his sons to that school–– they certainly had the money–– but had decided to send them to the public school, feeling that it was more in line with his constituents. 

Lafayette pulled out his phone and sent a message to the group chat.

 

**Large Baguette:** OKAY MES AMIS   
**Large Baguette:** WHO HERE KNOWS JOHN LAURENS

**Pegboard:** why u askin

**Hunkules Mulletman:** babe wtf r u doing

**Sweet Lizard:** oh john is a cutie!!

**Adriatic Sea:** ooohhh is this the boy you and Alex were stalking??

**Alabama Hammerman:** IT’S NOT STALKING 

**Angel Face:** wtf u doing stalking my boy??????

**Large Baguette:** YOUR BOY???  
**Large Baguette:** I DIDNT KNOW ANGIE JE SUIS DÉSOLÈ PLS DONT MURDER ME

**Pegboard:** lmao they’re so not dating calm the hell down Laffy Taffy  
**Pegboard:** Laurens is as gay as a pride flag

**Angel Face:** he’s still my boy and I am in charge of protecting him from weirdos like u

**Large Baguette:** i am fatally wounded goodbye mes amis 

**Sweet Lizard:** Angie stop! :(((

**Large Baguette:** at least Eliza will attend my funeral <333

**Pegboard:** can we get back to the fact that u and ham have been stalking a man???  
**Pegboard:** bc that is weird af  
**Pegboard:** and i’m offended u didn’t ask for my help

**Alabama Hammerman:** he’s in those car commercials  
**Alabama Hammerman:** on fox news  
**Alabama Hammerman:** he’s really cute and I wanted to meet him???  
**Alabama Hammerman:** also he wasn’t in this week’s commercial  
**Alabama Hammerman:** and i got kinda worried

**Large Baguette:** he means he got, how u say, hella gay

**Alabama Hammerman:** I AM BI THANK U V MUCH

**Hunkules Mulletman:** hi bi i’m dad

**Large Baguette:** BABE  
**Large Baguette:** I LOVE U SO MUCH

**Adriatic Sea:** why am i dating you two

**Alabama Hammerman:** so can i meet him or?????? 

**Angel Face:** hmmmmmm

**Sweet Lizard:** of course you can!

**Angel Face:** Liza stop ruining my evil plans come on grl

**Sweet Lizard:** ;)))

**Pegboard:** LET’S DO GAME NIGHT

**Large Baguette:** HOW YOU SAY, YES

**Angel Face:** YOU FUCKING KNOW HOW TO SAY YES YOU BAGUETTE   
**Angel Face:** but fine  
**Angel Face:** but u know who u gotta invite for me, right?

**Alabama Hammerman:** ANGIE  
**Alabama Hammerman:** WHY

**Angel Face:** he’s hot af okay just come on  
**Angel Face:** i’m helping u out, aren’t i? 

**Alabama Hammerman:** fine  
**Alabama Hammerman:** but i’m not pleased

**Angel Face:** never said u had to be ;)))

**Sweet Lizard:** So it’s settled! Game night, our place, next Friday at 7:00 :)

**Large Baguette:** i am, how u say, HYPED

**Angel Face:** lafFAYETTE I FUCKING SWEAR


	6. Let's Make Your Outfit Look Hot

“Laf?” Alex called from his bedroom. He was standing in front of his bed, six different outfits spread out in front of him. 

“Oui, mon ami?” Lafayette poked his head into Alex’s room. He had little green spots all over his face–– a face mask to treat his nonexistent acne.

“I can’t decide on what to wear,” Alex whined.

“Mon ami, seriously?” Laf asked, picking up the suit Alexander wore to all of the Washington’s uber formal events. 

Alex gave a nervous laugh and shrugged. “I… wanted to make a good first impression?” 

Laf shoved the suit at Alex for him to hang back up in the closet. While Alex was doing so, Laf had rejected three more potential outfits.

Alex went to gather them up when Laf stopped him.

“I must tell you why not to wear these for this kind of moment or you will never learn,” he said. He cleared his throat as he picked up the first outfit, a faded t-shirt for an obscure band and torn jeans. “This is not at all you,” Laf said. “Wasn’t this a Halloween costume?” 

Alex blushed. “But what if he likes the whole grunge thing?”

Lafayette tsked. “Mon ami, do not lie about who you are or what you like to get a boy or girl or anyone. Ever. It is not worth it.” 

With that, he picked up the next outfit, a bright blue polo shirt and khakis. “Alexander, mon ami,” Laf said, cocking an eyebrow at his brother. “What the, how you say,  _ fuck?”  _

“Remember my job at the snack shack on the golf course last summer?”

“You were going to wear your  _ work uniform?”  _ Lafayette exclaimed. “I do not believe I even have to explain why you should never do that.” He shoved the clothes into Alex’s arms.

“I was trying to look professional!” Alex said.

“Professionally bad at fashion,” Laf muttered.

Alex glared at him, but stayed silent. Lafayette was just trying to help, after all, even if he was being the ultimate sass queen about it. 

“And this little number,” Laf said, holding up the final outfit. It consisted of tight black pants and a purple sequins top. “This was from a talent show performance. From eighth grade. Do you even fit it anymore?” 

“Fuck off,” Alex muttered, swiping the outfit out of Laf’s hands.

“Were you going to wear the hat, too, and bring your wand?” 

“LAF I SWEAR––” 

“Ah, I am only teasing, mon ami,” Laf said with a wink.

Alexander crossed his arms and huffed at his brother.

“Now, let us look at the final two outfits.” 

All that was left were two pairs of dark blue jeans, a collared flannel shirt, and a dark green cable knit sweater.

“The sweater,” Laf said confidently. “It goes well with your skin and brings out your eyes.”

Alexander studied the sweater. “And which pair of jeans?”

Laf looked at each pair before turning to Alex in confusion. “They are the same, non?”

“One has more of a  _ distressed  _ look than the other,” Alex said as if it should have been obvious.

“And are you distressed, mon ami?” Laf said, his tone light.

“Always,” Alex mumbled, rolling his eyes.

“Then the more distressed ones it is!” Laf turned to leave the room, but stopped short of the doorway. “And when you are done, mon ami, come to my room. I will fix your hair.”

“But my hair is fine, L––”

“I will fix it,” Laf said again.

Alex knew it was useless to argue. “Fine,” he said with a sigh.  
  
“Magnifique,” Lafayette said with a grin. “Let us prepare for game night!”


	7. Game Night, Part One

“In short, tonight is going to be  _ lit,”  _ Peggy said as she led Alex and Laf into the living room.

Angelica, Eliza, and Hercules were already there. 

“Where is he?” Angelica asked as soon as Alexander came into view.

“Wow, hi to you, too, Angie,” Alex said teasingly.

“You better have come through with your end of the deal, Ham, or else I might just have to––”

“Relax, mon ami,” Laf interrupted. “I was there when our dear Alexander invited him. All is well. He will be here.” 

Angelica visibly relaxed at that. Alex noticed that she was dressed up–– a peach colored dress, beaded dangling earrings and a matching necklace and bracelets.

He then turned his attention to Eliza, who was more dressed up than Alexander ever remembered seeing her outside of a formal event. She had on flawless yet subtle makeup, a white collared shirt, and a high-waisted teal skirt that she tucked the shirt into, some of the fabric puffing out, hiding exactly where the shirt ended and the skirt began. She also had a long necklace on a silver chain with a single teal teardrop shaped stone dangling on the end of it. Alex couldn’t help but stare for a moment.

Eliza tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear and looked Alex’s way, as if she felt his gaze. 

“You look beautiful,” he said before he could think.

She blushed, smiling shyly at him. “Thanks. That sweater looks really nice on you.”

“Laf chose it.”

“I figured,” she said with a laugh.

“So,” Alex asked, sitting down on the couch next to her, “you suddenly got really dressy on us. Are things different at that fancy school of yours?” He was clearly just teasing her, but he was also curious. Eliza had always been more of a tomboy–– a t-shirts, leggings, and converse kind of girl.

Eliza blushed an even deeper shade of red. “I, well, first of all I discovered that I like to wear dresses.”

Alex beamed at her. “And you look gorgeous in them, clearly!”

“Thanks,” she said with a nervous laugh. “And, well, Peggy may have invited someone here tonight that I have a crush on…” She began to fiddle with her hair anxiously.

“Peggy is quite the handful,” Alex said with a sigh. “But who is this mystery person?” He gently nudged her in the side with his elbow, eliciting another soft laugh from her. He always thought that Eliza’s laughs were the audio version of fairy lights–– soft, gentle, and beautiful. 

“Her name is Maria,” Eliza whispered. 

Alexander grinned at her. “She’d be silly not to like you, Sweet Lizard.”

Eliza’s laugh appeared again, widening Alex’s smile. He always felt warm inside when he managed to make Eliza laugh. It was such a glorious feeling.

The two friends were distracted by the sound of more voices filling the room. From the way Eliza froze and her face turned a brighter red than Alexander had ever seen (and that was saying something), he figured the girl he didn’t know, who was dressed in what looked like an incredibly soft red sweater and dark blue skinny jeans with a few gold bangles around her wrist, and who had dark brown hair that fell to her shoulders in luscious waves, was Maria. The other girl with her was Adrienne de Noailles, the other ⅓ of the Laf-Herc-Adri trio. 

He was about to ask Eliza if she wanted to go over and say hello when a third new person walked–– no,  _ sauntered _ –– in. 

The boy was tall, dressed in a deep purple cardigan with black jeans tucked into golden high-tops converse. His puffy dark brown hair bounced as he made his way over to the couch and smirked down at Alexander.

“Hamilton,” he said.

“Jefferson,” Alex grumbled.

“Thomas!” Angelica exclaimed, conveniently coming in from the kitchen at that exact moment. “I am  _ so  _ glad you could make it!” 

He leaned down and they air-kissed each other on each cheek. Alexander rolled his eyes and Eliza gave him  _ a look.  _

“I would never miss an opportunity to be in the presence of the dazzling Angelica Schuyler,” he said smoothly.

“Ugh,” Alex muttered. He motioned to Eliza, and the two of them made their escape as Angelica and Jefferson started flirting with each other through an exchange of witty remarks that neither Alexander nor Eliza had any desire to overhear.

“I’VE GOT THE GAMES!” Peggy hollered from the hallway. She then entered the room with a stack of games that was almost larger than she was. 

Eliza and Maria rushed forward at the same time to help her, and, from the look on Peggy’s face, it was evident that that had been her intention all along. 

Alexander went up to Peggy once the games were safely in Eliza and Maria’s hands. “Hey, uh, where’s John?” Alex scratched the back of his neck.

Peggy just smirked. “He and his sister Martha are coming, don’t worry your butt off or anything.” 

“Mon ami, if you worry anymore butt off you will have none left!” Laf came up behind Alex with Adrienne on one arm and Hercules on the other. They winked at Alex in unison. 

Just then, the doorbell rang.   
  
Lafayette beamed at Alexander. “Are you ready to meet your, how you say, Prince Charming?” 


	8. Game Night, Part Two

Martha Laurens was just as giggly in the company of her friends as she had been when Alex and Laf met her at the dealership. She’d latched onto Eliza right away, though it was clear Peggy was trying to lure her off of her older sister’s arm while also trying to get Maria off of her own arm so Maria and Eliza could spend time together. 

John Laurens was… Well, Alexander’s first thought upon seeing him in person was  _ he is a freckled god.  _

His second thought didn’t have any time to fully form because Martha Laurens had noticed Alex and Laf and was looking at them quizzically. 

“Didn’t you come to Dad’s dealership looking for a car?” She gestured to Laf. Her eyes fell on Alexander. “And you were there, too!” 

Alex began to stammer, the words racing too fast through his mind, not allowing him a chance to put together an even semi-coherent answer. Thankfully, Lafayette swooped in to the rescue.

“Oui, that was us,” he said, using the same smooth tone he’d had at the dealership. “But, a little secret?” He leaned closer to her, conspiratorily, and, wide-eyed, she leaned in closer to him. “We were not there for a car. We were there for a boy.” He pulled away and winked at her.

She wrinkled her face in confusion for a moment before her eyes lit up in understanding. “John?” 

Lafayette beamed. “Oui! And then we discovered that we have some, ah, how you say, mutual friends.” 

Angelica, as if on cue, looped her arms around Laf’s neck from behind, her head on his shoulder, a large smile on her face. 

Martha smiled kindly at Laf before turning to Alex. Alexander could feel her eyes studying him, taking in every inch of his body. After a few tense moments, she offered him a small smile. He grinned in relief. 

“Well, let’s get started!” Angelica declared, clapping her hands to get everyone’s attention. “So, what game are we playing first?” 

There were various shouts requesting a number of games: Monopoly, Scrabble, Spin the Bottle, even Go Fish! got thrown in there. It was when Angelica went to take a vote between Spin the Bottle and Go Fish! that she noticed something was off. 

“Where’s Eliza?” She scanned the room again. “And where’s John?” 

A murmuring spread throughout the small gathering. Alexander saw Martha scrabble to her feet and race down a hallway. He wondered what was going on. He wondered––

“I just, I just need to take a walk!” 

That voice. He’d heard it on the TV, but this was the first time he heard it in person. 

John Laurens ran through the silent living room and out the door. Alex was surprised to notice the tears making their way down his freckled face. 

Before he realized what he was doing, Alexander had followed John out the door.

_ You don’t even know him!  _ an internal voice warned. But Alex ignored it, his thoughts only concerned with John as the door slammed behind them both and the other boy’s names left his lips, a desperate plea into the darkness of the early spring night. 

_ John!  _

He actually turned around. Alexander didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but for some reason, it wasn’t that. 

John stared at him for a moment. “Yeah?” he finally said, voice shaky. 

“I, uh… I was worried. Worried about you, I mean,” Alex stammered. 

“About me?” The way John asked it made it sound as if he were surprised anyone would be worried about him, let alone a boy whose name he didn’t even know. 

“Yes, you.” Alex felt a wave of confidence surge through him. He walked down the footpath toward John, closing the gap between them. “Do you want some company on your walk?” 

John only stared in response, looking slightly bewildered. 

“I’d say we could talk here, if you even want to talk, I mean, oh god, please don’t feel pressured I just––” 

“A walk. A walk is good. Yeah,” John cut Alex off. 

Alex gave him a weak smile. “Okay, and more private, too.” 

“Uh, we’re alone out here,” John said, looking at Alex in confusion.

Alex laughed and shook his head. “Look in the living room window.” 

Sure enough, there was Laf, Herc, Angelica, Peggy, and Martha, there noses practically pressed to the glass. When the two boys looked their way, they all scrambled out of sight except for Peggy, who made kissy faces at them.

Alexander’s cheeks blazed red at Peggy’s antics. He quickly grabbed John’s arm and ushered him down the sidewalk before Peggy could do anything else. 

They were half a block away from the Schuyler’s house when it hit him:  _ he was on a walk with John Laurens.  _


	9. Who is this kid?

They’d walked for two blocks in complete silence.

It was killing Alexander, the silence. He was so unaccustomed to silence–– always chatting with someone or listening to music–– and now here he was,  _ finally  _ with the boy he’d been lusting after for so long and he, the boy of many words,  _ could not speak.  _

“So, uh, you weren’t on the commercial last week.” 

And, of course, when he did speak, he wanted to trip into a hole and die there.  _ Why did you say that?!  _

But then John laughed. John Laurens, the freckled god himself,  _ laughed _ , and not at Alex, but rather at what Alex had said in the sweetest way possible. The warmth Alex felt spread through his chest was more beautiful than anything he’d ever felt before. He wanted to keep making John Laurens laugh. He wanted his sole job to be Making John Laurens Laugh. 

“Oh my god, you noticed?” John wiped a stray tear from his cheek. “Wait… that only airs on Fox…” He looked Alex up and down and Alex could practically hear the confusion and turmoil in John’s mind.

“Oh, right, I only watch that to debate the real jerk. He’s actually at the party, the one with the––” 

“Oh, shit, it’s Thomas Jefferson, isn’t it?” John said with a laugh.

Alex stopped, mouth hanging open. “How do you even know him? He goes to my school.” 

John rolled his eyes. “P- _ lease _ . You try being around Angelica all day. She’s in this constant love/hate thing with him and as far as I can tell she’s seen him what, twice?” 

“Three times, now four. And that’s four too many,” Alex said.

John laughed again and everything inside of Alexander melted into a technicolor puddle.

“Angelica said I would like you. And you know what? Angie might have an awful taste in her own boy interests, but otherwise, Angelica Schuyler is never wrong.” 

Alexander wanted to scream, but instead he settled for a tiny shriek that caused him to cover his mouth right away afterward.

John laughed again and Alexander decided that embarrassing himself was 100% worth it if it got John to keep making that beautiful sound.

Alex quickly composed himself and tried to move the conversation back to, well, back to the reason for the entire conversation in the first place. “So, um, are you okay?” He scratched at the back of his neck and looked down at his scuffed up sneakers as he waited for John to reply.

John sighed. “Ha, no.”

That was a laugh Alex never wanted to hear again. Before he could even think of what to say, John continued on.

“It actually has to do with why I wasn’t in the commercial,” John said with another sigh. “I… I don’t want to weird you out by telling you my sob story when we don’t even know really basic things about each other, you know?” 

Alex smiled at John. “Okay, well, we can fix that.” 

“Yeah?” John asked with a sad laugh.

Alexander wanted to take all the things that were making John Laurens sound so sad and lock them away for eternity. “Yeah,” Alex said. “Definitely.” 


	10. Let me inside your heart

Alex and John were lazily walking through the Schuyler’s neighborhood, all urgency gone from their steps as they quizzed each other.

“Age?” Alexander asked

“Sixteen going on seventeen.”

“Did you just…” Alex was doubled over in laughter, unable to finish his question.

“Yes.” John laughed, more at Alex’s response than anything else, it seemed. “Hey,  _ The Sound of Music  _ is iconic!” 

“Trust me, I know,” Alex said, his laughter subsiding. “Laf makes us watch it like four times a year.” 

“Laf is… your…” 

“Brother. Adoptive brother. He’s French, obviously, and I’m from Nevis.”

“That’s cool,” John said with a small smile. “I’m from South Carolina. Well, still from there, I guess, since Dad still has a house down there, and we go there every summer, but, uh, yeah we call Virginia home since it’s closer to DC.”

Alex smiled at John. “That’s nice, though. You have a really nice, big family. Do you get along well with your siblings?” 

“Oh, yeah, they’re great.” John laughed a little. “I mean, they can be annoying as hell, don’t get me wrong, but I love ‘em, and they usually listen to me since I’m the oldest.”

“You get along with your dad, too?” Alex had met the question to be innocent, to continue the  _ get to know each other before divulging deep dark secrets  _ conversation, but from the way John’s breath hitched he could tell he’d hit something dark, something heavy, and he wished he could take it back, but John spoke before he even had the chance. 

“Ha, no. He… he’s kind of the reason I’m in this state.” John sighed, and Alex swore he’d expelled all of the air from his lungs. 

“Do… do you want to talk? About it?” Alex hesitantly asked.

“Sure. I mean, I guess we know enough about each other.” John paused, frowning for a moment. “Wait… I still don’t know one very important thing.”

Alex’s heart sped up as his mind went through every possible  _ thing  _ John might want to know about him before telling him something real, something serious. 

“Ye-yeah?” Alex stammered.

John dropped his voice to a whisper. “What’s your favorite color?” 

Alexander burst out laughing, mostly in relief, but John joined him and it was his beautiful laugh, so it was worth it in Alex’s opinion.

“Mine is green,” John said quickly. “Just in case you feel like it’s one of those questions the asker should answer first.”

Alex chuckled again. “Well, I don’t have just one…” Alex remembered what Peggy had said, about John most certainly being gay. He decided to take a chance with his answer. He took a deep breath. “Mine are pink, purple, and blue. In that order.” 

He looked over at John and could see him pondering his reply for a moment before his eyes lit up, quickly followed by his freckled face blushing a deep red. 

Alex giggled and elbowed John. That snapped John out of whatever tied his tongue up for a moment and he was laughing his beautiful laugh again, though this time he sobered up much more quickly, and Alexander could tell they were about to talk about the real and dark and gritty things. 

About whatever it was that had John Laurens so sad.

“Well, now I can tell you, I guess,” John said with a nervous laugh.

“Only if you want to,” Alex said quickly, praying John would want to.  
  
“I do,” John said, his voice certain. He opened his mouth and the story began. 


	11. Tell Your Story, Part One

“It started with a girl,” John said.

“Just like the Trojan War,” Alex mumbled. 

John looked at Alex and actually smiled, then shook his head, that beautiful smile still on his lips, as if to say  _ I cannot believe you just said that, you wonderful nerd.  _

Or at least that’s what Alex hoped John meant by the smile and shake of his head. 

“My dad liked her. A lot. I mean for me, not like, himself.” John shuddered. “She goes to my church and is in Teen Bible Study Sundays with me which, yes, is  _ exactly  _ as awful as it sounds.” 

“So your dad is trying to choose your girlfriends?” Alex said, kind of shocked. He couldn’t imagine the Washingtons ever doing that to him or Laf. It would be so… invasive. 

“Uh, not exactly. He probably wouldn’t care which girl I date.” John paused. “He just, uh, he just wants me to date a girl. Period.”

“Oh,” Alex said softly. Sometimes he forgot that not everyone was fortunate enough to have such supportive and accepting parents. 

“Yeah. And, well, last week, we kind of… had a fight.” John sighed and shook his head. “He set me and her up on a date, and when I found out, I was really angry. I mean he didn’t even ask me!” John throw his hands in the air in frustration. “What if I’d had plans or something already?” 

Alex nodded along empathetically. 

“So I tried to play it off like  _ wow, Dad, she’ll never like me now that you went ahead and set up our first date, like, who wants to date someone who doesn’t even ask the girl out himself?  _ but he just shrugged it off, like, he went through her dad, so it wasn’t weird, but that kind of made it… I can’t even say that made it weirder because the whole thing was so weird.” 

“It sounds really… awkward?” Alex offered.

“There is no word in the English language, or possibly any language, that properly describes that situation.”

Alex nodded in agreement, feeling unsure of what to say. This was a new feeling for him, not knowing what to say, and it seemed to happen exclusively around John. Alexander briefly wondered what that meant, though he didn’t have much time to ponder on it.

“So I should’ve just addressed the whole thing right then and there. I should’ve said ‘Listen, Dad. You know it and I know it, but since you’re gonna pretend you don’t know it, then how about I just say it. I’m gay as  _ heck _ , Dad.” 

Alex’s heart fluttered because even when John Laurens was angry he said things like  _ heck  _ and it was the most endearing thing that Alex had ever experienced. 

“But I’m getting the sense you didn’t say anything there?” 

John let out a slightly-pained sigh. “Ha, no.” He stopped walking and crossed his arms over his chest as if he were suddenly cold. “I really, well…” He took a deep breath and looked Alex in the eye. “I really fucked this one up.”

Alex got the sense John didn’t swear too much, maybe because he had so many younger siblings, or maybe because it was just who he was as a person, so when he used that word… Alex knew it must have been pretty serious. 

“So Martha and I were supposed to, uh, go on our  _ date _ ,” John made air quotes and rolled his eyes, “the night of our weekly commercial shoot, like, right after it, basically.”

They had started walking again, and John was making a bunch of angry hand gestures, as if the air had personally offended him.

“And I was keeping it together until right after we’d finished the final take when my dad turned to me with a hecking grin on his face and said ‘Maybe soon your special lady friend can do a commercial with us, just for fun.’ But I knew what he was really saying was  _ we’re gonna show the world you are Not Gay, John, even though we both know you are Hella Gay. _ ” 

“Damn,” Alex muttered.

“Yeah,” John said, voice flat. “And that’s when I lost it.”

“I would’ve too. I don’t think anyone could blame you for that,” Alexander said in what he prayed was a comforting and not condescending or annoying tone.

John offered him a small smile, and Alex sighed in relief, figuring he’d done  _ something  _ right. He hoped he kept doing things right because when John smiled at him… Well, he fell apart. 

“I guess,” John said, and although he shrugged as if trying to keep the statement nonchalant, Alex could see the glimmer in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. “So you won’t judge me too hard for this next part?”

Alex smiled at John. “I think I’ll be disappointed if you  _ don’t  _ do something drastic in that moment.”

John smiled back at Alexander, and Alex’s heart fluttered. He knew in that moment that John had entirely stolen his affections, and there was nothing he could do–– or want to do–– to get them back. 


	12. Tell Your Story, Part Two

Alexander and John had made a large loop. Alex could see the Schuyler’s house coming back into view. He felt his heart sink a bit. As much as he adored his friends, he also wanted to keep spending time with John–– just John–– although he knew that wasn’t realistic. They’d have to return at some point. They couldn’t keep walking forever… could they? 

Alex pushed the thought from his mind and refocused on John, who was about to tell him what he’d done that caused his father to become so angry with him. 

“So, okay, well––” John ran a hand through his dark curls and nervously laughed. “I may have asked to do one more take, said something just didn’t feel right. And I never ask, so my dad got this weird look on his face, but he obliged.” John looked at Alexander, a smirk on his face. “So this time around I had the opening line. I was supposed to say ‘Do you want to feel patriotic today?’”

Alex nodded. That sounded about right for a Laurens’ commercial.

“So what I said was ‘Do you want to feel patriotic today? Come on down and visit me, your local gay!’ And then I walked off frame and didn’t stop walking until I realized I was a few blocks from the dealership.”

Alex had stopped walking and simply stood there, staring at John, mouth agape. “Wh-what happened next?”  

John shrugged. “I called Angelica and asked her to come get me, since she’s the one with her liscense.” A smirk made its way across his face. “Of course when she pulls up Peggy’s in the front seat wearing these ridiculous shades and Eliza’s in the backseat like she’s expecting me to be in crisis.”

“Were you?” Alex asked before he could stop himself. 

“No,” John said, a hint of surprise in his own voice. “I expected the be, honestly, but I wasn’t. I just felt… free.” 

Alex grinned at him. The smile fell off his face as soon as he remembered he didn’t know how the story ended, though. “Your dad… is he, uh, coming around?” 

John seemed to deflate a bit. “We had a fight before Martha and I left to come here. He was upset with me for skipping the date, then for skipping the date he’d rescheduled.” 

“Oh my god,” Alex said. “He rescheduled the date even after you came out like that?” 

“‘Being gay doesn’t mean you can’t like girls, Jack,’” John said in a deep voice. “And I was like ‘Actually that is precisely what it means, Dad.’ He started yelling after that, so I just told Martha it was time to go and we left.” He shrugged as if it were no big deal, but Alex still knew that it was. 

“That was really brave of you, John,” Alexander said. “Like… hella brave.” 

John smiled at him. “Redefining bravery is all in a day’s work for me.” He winked at Alex.

The laugh that came out of Alex wasn’t exactly attractive, but it was genuine, and that was all that seemed to matter, because it caused John and Alex to stop walking and stare into each other eyes. 

Before Alex could comprehend what was going on, he was standing on his tiptoes and John’s hand was gently cupping his cheek and their lips were moving closer and closer––

The blaring of a car horn stopped them just before their lips could brush up against each other. The window on the car rolled down, revealing a man with a really bad dye job.

“John Laurens, what do you think you’re doing?” his father hollered.

The look of rage that filled John’s eyes was both scary and attractive to Alexander. And, well, it wasn’t how he imagined kissing John for the first time would be, but when John’s hand, which was still on Alex’s face, continued to bring Alex’s lips closer to his, Alex didn’t resist. He didn’t  _ want  _ to resist,

Their kiss was filled with desire–– a lot of desire–– and rage and pain and absolute  _ beauty.  _ It made every cell, every atom inside Alexander feel as if it were on fire. He never wanted it to end.

When they pulled away, they turned to face a stunned Henry Laurens. 

“Oh, hey, Dad,” John said, a smirk spreading over his features. “I’m just kissing Alexander here. What’re you up to?”  
  
And the look on Henry Laurens’ face was priceless. 


	13. John, do you yield?

“Get. In. The. Car.” Henry Laurens practically growled.

John threw his arm over Alexander’s shoulders in response. “Why? So you can berate me? Tell me you hate me? No thanks. I’ll stay with people who like me. People who accept me for who I am.”

John gently pushed Alexander until they were both walking back toward the Schuyler’s, which was only a few houses down the street from where they’d been standing. 

John’s father slowly drove next to them. “John Laurens! Get in the car!” 

“No thanks,” John spat, quickening their pace.

“I’m not going to say it again, young man!” Alexander swore there was actually smoke coming out of Henry Laurens’ ears. 

“Good!” John quipped.

“John,” his father said again, his voice different this time. When Alexander looked at him, he saw someone different. Someone tired, confused… scared? “I just want to talk to you. You can even bring…him… if that makes you feel better.”

John and Alex exchanged looks. 

“Uh, wait here,” John ordered. He grabbed Alex’s hand and tugged him toward the Schuyler’s, running up the walkway and banging on the door. 

Angelica opened it mid-bang, a smirk on her face. “What were you two up to all that time?”

“My dad showed up,” John panted. 

“O...kay…” Angelica said slowly. “I have to admit, that’s not what I’d envisioned, but, well…” She shrugged. She turned to go in the house, expecting John and Alex to follow.

John grabbed her wrist. “Angie, wait.” 

She turned back around, confusion distorting her features. 

“My dad wants to talk with me. He said I could bring Alex. Should I?” 

Angelica studied the two of them for a moment before shouting into the living room. “ELIZA!” 

Eliza appeared within two seconds, and right away Alexander noticed the lipstick staining her cheeks. He made a mental note to ask her about that later. 

“Yeah?” she asked, looking at the boys and her sister.

“Are you up for an adventure?” 

“You’re sending Eliza with us?” John asked in confusion. 

Angelica smirked. “Hell yeah. A girl, and a girl from a powerful family, will force him to be civil.” 

John turned to Eliza, who looked even more lost now than before. “Are you okay with this?”

“Uh, probably, but what the heck is going on?” She laughed anxiously.

John quickly explained what had happened. Eliza nodded in understanding.    


“But please, ‘Liza, don’t feel pressured. The last thing I would ever want is for you to be in a situation where you fe––”

She cut him off by placing a hand on his shoulder. “John, you’re my best friend. Of course I’m gonna do this.” 

“Offended,” Peggy muttered. The others turned around and stared at her, wondering when she’d gotten there. 

John hugged Eliza. “I owe you one, Sweet Lizard.” 

Eliza groaned. “You could stop calling me Sweet Lizard.” 

“I will do literally anything else,” John said with a laugh. “Sweet Lizard is too great a name to ban.” 

The three teens looked out the door and saw that Henry Laurens’ was parked outside the house, car still running. 

“Well, you guys ready for this?” Alexander asked.

John squeezed his hand. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Eliza nodded, expression solemn. “Let’s do this.”


	14. His mother knew quick

Henry Laurens took the three of them to a Denny’s.

The car ride there was less awkward than either of the boys had expected, mostly thanks to Eliza, who sat in the passenger’s seat and cordially chatted with Henry about school and her family.

When they were seated at the restaurant, they all silently scanned their menus, although none of them were really hungry. In the end, they all ordered the same thing–– pancakes–– because they were feeling oh-so original. 

As soon as the waiter took their orders and menus, a tense silence descended upon the table. They’d claimed a booth, the three friends squished onto one side while Henry Laurens was seated by himself, staring across the table at them. 

He cleared his throat. Alexander swore he caught a hint of anxiety in the man’s eyes.

“So, well, this isn’t how I imagined this conversation happening, I mean, with an audience.” He glanced at Alexander and Eliza, who had John sandwiched between them.

“You’re the one who offered to have my friends along,” John said, the anger in his voice painfully clear.

“I know, Jacky, and I stand by that. I simply…” He ran a hand through his hair. “I know I’ve forced some things on you lately.” 

“Girls aren’t  _ things,  _ Dad,” John grumbled. 

“That isn’t what I meant,” Henry said, sighing in frustration. “I meant my ideals. I’ve been shoving my ideals on you. But, well, clearly you have a… leaning… toward the, uh, homosexual lifestyle, and, well––”

“Oh my freaking god, Dad,” John exclaimed. “‘ _ Lifestyle _ ,’” he said while making air quotes. 

“I don’t know what it’s being called these days!” his father said, clearly exasperated. 

“It’s called being gay,” John montoned, crossing his arms over his chest. “And I’m gay. I didn’t choose it. It’s not a lifestyle. It’s just a part of who I am.” 

The venom in John’s voice shocked Alexander, and, from the look on her face, it seemed to shock Eliza, as well. 

“Okay, okay,” Henry said, waving his hand as if trying to dispel a bad smell. “What I wanted to say to you is that, well, this isn’t easy to admit, but…” he sighed deeply, dropping his head in his hands. “Your mother was right.” 

John simply stared at his father, mouth agape. 

“Alrighty, I’ve got some pancakes!” The waiter, of course, came back at that exact moment and set their meals down in front of them. They all mumbled  _ thank you  _ but none of them made a move to start eating. 

As soon as the waiter left, they were back to staring at John’s father. 

“What do you mean?” John finally asked. 

“When you were young, possibly in, oh, I don’t know, kindergarten? Well, your mother got a call home asking her to come pick you up. Right away, she thought you’d gotten into a fight or gotten hurt or that something terrible had happened to you.” He looked up at his son, a sad smile on his face. “But they wanted her to take you home for the day because you’d kissed another boy.” 

Alexander and Eliza both gasped, but John remained silent. When Alex looked up at him, he noticed there were tears sparkling in his eyes.

“Mom knew,” he whispered. 

“She sure did,” Henry said, tears now welling up in his eyes, too. 

“And she didn’t hate me.” Alexander could tell John mostly whispered that to himself, but from the way Henry Laurens sighed, he had heard it. 

“Of course not, Jacky. And I don’t, either,” he said.

John narrowed his eyes at his father. “Then why the heck would you try to force a girl on me like that?” 

Henry shook his head. “It’s not easy, John, being, well, alone. If your mother were here, that never would have happened. And, well, that’s what made me reconsider.” 

“What do you mean?” John asked, his tone ready for a confrontation, his glare zeroed in on his father.   
  
“I had a dream,” he said. “I had a dream about your mother.” 


	15. Wait for it

Alexander, John, and Eliza stared at Henry Laurens for a long ten seconds before the older man finally broke the silence.

“I… I never dream about her,” he admitted. He twiddled his thumbs and looked down at his hands as if he were ashamed at the fact.

Alexander felt John deflate a bit, their shoulders now touching. He felt rainbows of light shooting from that location throughout the rest of his body. He silently willed John to stay. He did.

“I don’t dream of her much anymore,” John said in a small voice. “I used to, but…” 

“They’ve faded?” Henry asked.

John and his father’s eyes met. Something clearly passed between them. Something like… understanding? 

“Exactly,” John said, his voice missing the angry tinge it’d had ever since his dad had pulled up next to the two boys on the sidewalk.

“I… I think the good Lord was trying to send me a message and, in His wisdom, He summoned her to deliver it.”

Alex felt John tense at the mention of religion, but he remained silent. He slipped his hand into John’s and saw Eliza do the same. A united front, no matter what.

“And she… Well, Jacky, it was odd. At first we were as we’d been in life. It was her and I and we were having a picnic. You kids were there, but you were all running around, playing.” A whimsical, peaceful look crossed his face for a moment. 

“Then it was just you, as old as you are now, and you were walking toward us with…” He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. “With a boy. Holding hands. You were, uh, holding hands with this, uh, young man. And I, well, I didn’t know how to react. But your mother…” 

Alex chanced a glance at John and saw his eyes welling up with tears. Alex gave his hand a squeeze and felt John squeeze back, holding on as tightly as possible. 

When Henry Laurens opened his eyes, there were tears glistening there, but a small smile on his face. “Your mother just turned to me, smiled, and said ‘Doesn’t our boy look happy?’”

All three of the teens were speechless, and it seemed Henry Laurens was, too. 

“How y’all doing?” The waiter sauntered back up to the table wearing a too-cheery smile.

Alex gave an awkward thumbs up, which the waiter returned before going off to another table. 

“She took my hand after that,” Henry said as soon as the waiter was gone. “And that was when I woke up.” 

As John studied his father, Alexander could practically see the questions that were buzzing through John’s mind.  _ What does this mean? Does he accept me? Support me? Will this last? Was that really Mom? She’s okay with me?  _

Alex wanted to soothe John and the questions he imagined were whirling through his mind, but he stayed still. The was John’s moment. Or, if things went well, it would be John and Henry’s moment. 

Alexander and Eliza? Well, they’d just have to wait for it. 


	16. How lucky we are to be alive right now!

_ One Month Later  _

“It landed on you so you  _ have  _ to!” Angelica declared, grinning at Eliza and Maria in turn.

All of the friends were gathered at the Schuyler’s for game night once again, and, this time, they actually got to play the games. Right now they were playing spin-the-bottle, and, while he couldn’t prove it, Alexander was  _ pretty positive  _ that Angelica had somehow rigged it so Eliza’s spin would land on Maria. 

Eliza’s face blushed a deep red as her eyes met Maria’s. “Are you okay with us––” Eliza was cut off by Maria lunging forward and locking her lips over the other girl’s. 

Eliza’s eyes went wide at first but then shut, a dreamy look overtaking her face. When Maria pulled away Eliza gently touched her own lip, where the remnants of Maria’s rose-colored lipstick lingered. 

Maria moved over to Eliza, sitting next to her–– and much closer than she absolutely had to–– and they held hands for the remainder of the game.

Alexander leaned against John, his boyfriend of two weeks now, and let his eyes drift shut. He felt one of John’s warm hands take his, John’s thumb rubbing small circles over the back of Alex’s hand. He listened to Herc’s booming laughter and heard Laf’s flustered protests and knew without even peeking that Laf’s spin had landed on Angelica, who he’s had  _ the most obvious  _ crush on since the moment he met her, and probably even before then, somehow. But that was Angelica. Nearly everyone had a crush on her. 

There was a silent moment, then burst of whistles and cheers and applause, and Alex smiled to himself, loving the feeling of being surrounded by his friends’ happiness and laughter; of being next to John.

John. 

John, who, against all odds, was  _ his.  _

After that day at the diner, John slowly seemed to grow happier and happier. He never said it, but Alex was sure it had at least  _ something  _ to do with the fact that Henry Laurens was now doing his absolute best to support his son.

In the last car commercial Alexander saw (because yes,  _ of course he still watched them every night _ ) John had been wearing a black t-shirt with a rainbow heart over the chest pocket along with a face-eating grin, making that commercial the most liberal thing to air on Fox News maybe  _ ever.  _

John nudged Alex with his shoulder, jostling the other boy out of his dream-like state. “It’s your turn,” he said with a smirk.

Alexander grinned back at John and took the bottle in hand, turning it until it pointed at John. Angelica protested that  _ that was entirely unfair how could he! _ , Laf and Herc whistled, and Peggy snickered.

“This isn’t seven minutes in heaven, you guys,” Peggy said after five seconds. 

Alex pulled away and winked at John. 

“My turn!” Peggy declared, even though it wasn’t her turn. But nobody said  _ no  _ to Peggy. Who knew what she would do if they did. 

She gave it a good spin and cackled when it landed on Adrienne. “Imma steal your girl,” she said to Laf and Herc. 

Hercules rolled his eyes, but Laf actually looked a little defensive. Peggy narrowed her eyes at him.

“You literally just kissed my sister.”

“That is not the same thing!” he exclaimed.

Peggy winked at him. “No, it’s not, but oh well!” She looked at Adrienne who giggled as she crawled forward to meet Peggy halfway. They shared a chaste kiss, but it was enough to get Laf a little bothered, which seemed to be Peggy’s goal.

Peggy leaned toward Laf and whispered “That was for lying to me about the lizard.”

Everyone gave Lafayette a confused look. He simply shrugged. “I needed her help and I knew she wouldn’t come without… incentive.” 

“Next time you say there’s a lizard, there better be a lizard, or Imma kiss your boyfriend next.” Peggy winked at Herc, who seemed a little bit flustered. Laf waved her away.

“Okay, let’s get back to the game,” Angelica suggested. “Now, whose turn was it  _ really?”  _

And so they continued to play, all of them content–– happy. Alexander gripped John’s hand, and John squeezed back, both of them buoyed by their friends’ laughter, by each other.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING THIS FIC AAAHHH!!!!!!
> 
> This is literally my favorite fic I've ever written so I hope you've enjoyed it half as much as I did while writing it! Comments and kudos rock my history loving socks! Thank you to all the kiddos who showed thos fic so much love on Tumblr. Wanna follow me there? I'm @undiscoveredstory 
> 
> Thanks for reading! <333


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